CEVA Logistics is delivering a major shipment of medical supplies this week to NHS hospitals and surgeries across the country, as part of a government initiative to bring all UK healthcare distribution under one umbrella during the COVID-19 crisis.
The cargo, sent from Shanghai to Heathrow on Friday night (3 April), includes personal protection equipment (PPE)), virus testing tubes, 12,600 medical isolation goggles, 500 body bags, 30,000 filters for ventilators, 100,000 aprons, 10,000 sets of scrubs and 7,500 samples tubes for virus testing.
The urgency of the order saw it completed in rapid time, taking seven days from receiving the first phone call to arriving at destination, with CEVA’s teams in the UK and Shanghai working to bring together the cargo of almost 1,100 cartons of supplies.
The consignment was so large that special Civil Aviation Authority permission had to be obtained by Virgin Atlantic to carry part of it on the seats of its passenger cabin, with the rest in the belly of the aircraft.
CEVA’s chief execuitve, Mathieu Friedberg said: “These medical supplies and PPE equipment are urgently required to support the work that NHS teams are providing up and down the country during the COVID-19 crisis. Our CEVA teams at both ends of the supply chain, alongside the Virgin team providing the uplift and the Virgin Foundation, have worked together tirelessly to make this become a reality in an incredibly short timeframe."
Steve Buckerfield, director sales, cargo at Virgin Atlantic, added: “We’re proud to have joined forces with the CEVA Logistics teams in Shanghai and London to expedite this urgently-needed shipment of medical equipment to the heroes working in the NHS. At a time when frontline doctors and nurses are working so hard to save lives, it’s essential they have the supplies they need to stay safe and to protect patients in their care.
“With medical supplies being sourced from around the world, the air cargo and logistics industries have a vital role to play in making sure equipment reaches where it is required safely and immediately to help save the lives of patients and reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
